Raju, the lion dies at Karachi Zoo

Administrator KMC has sought a report on the lion's death

KARACHI: Karachi Zoo lost its lion Raju under mysterious circumstances on Friday evening.

Raju was 23 years old, three years older than the average age of lions, and five more than the life expectancy for lions in captivity. His health had deteriorated in recent days and he had stopped eating. At 9m on Friday evening, he passed away.

The incident has prompted Administrator Karachi Saqib Ahmed Soomro to take notice. He has demand a report on Raju's death from Zoo officials. Further, he has advised the Zoo administration to present details on the lion’s medical treatment, and the post-mortem report in order to determine why the lion died.

According to officials, Raju's teeth used to break on a regular basis which often made it difficult for him to eat. For this purpose, the Zoo administration regularly gave him multi-vitamins.

Last week, Raju’s health worsened and he started getting weaker. A panel of doctors was subsequently charged with his care.

When he stopped eating yesterday, the doctors gave him medicines but due to his old age, he could not overcome it and passed away.

Raju had been donated to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation in 2005 by Habib Oil Mills (Pvt) Ltd.